Until I came to this forum shocking had been presented to me as a "do it every couple of weeks" thing. Clearly that's not accurate but that's pool builders and suppliers for you.
I've read quite a bit here and in pool school and get bits but haven't yet seen it stated specifically (I'm sure it's here but I haven't found it), when to shock? It's clear that it's different for each pool and it depends on your FC, CC and CYA levels. I just tested mine and they are as follows - CYA=25, FC=5.5, CC=1 . I gather that CC should be near or at zero (mine has been between 0 and 1). Because it is not 0 should I shock it or, is there a point at which I should?
I have an 18000 gallon pool with a retractable cover and keeping the Chlorine levels in the 3-5 range is not difficult, I suspect because the cover is closed a good part of the day. I understand that my CYA levels are a bit low but I manage my Chlorine via Bleach and Tablets (tablets and fine tune with bleach). My understanding is that over time, if I am using tablets (or anything with a stabilizer in it) my CYA levels will increase. My thinking is that I will let that happen as I use the tablets until it gets to a level I don't want to go over and then quit the tablets. Because of the simplicity I do like having the tablets. Does this make sense and any rough idea of how long that might be? My guess is a loooong time but I don't know for sure. If it is a long time then it's not a major concern and maybe I should bump my CYA a bit?
My other levels are PH 7.2, CH 550 (high but we have very hard water here - Albuquerque NM), TA 100. From reading on here, with my CH at 550 and at PH around 7.2 I should be ok.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!
I've read quite a bit here and in pool school and get bits but haven't yet seen it stated specifically (I'm sure it's here but I haven't found it), when to shock? It's clear that it's different for each pool and it depends on your FC, CC and CYA levels. I just tested mine and they are as follows - CYA=25, FC=5.5, CC=1 . I gather that CC should be near or at zero (mine has been between 0 and 1). Because it is not 0 should I shock it or, is there a point at which I should?
I have an 18000 gallon pool with a retractable cover and keeping the Chlorine levels in the 3-5 range is not difficult, I suspect because the cover is closed a good part of the day. I understand that my CYA levels are a bit low but I manage my Chlorine via Bleach and Tablets (tablets and fine tune with bleach). My understanding is that over time, if I am using tablets (or anything with a stabilizer in it) my CYA levels will increase. My thinking is that I will let that happen as I use the tablets until it gets to a level I don't want to go over and then quit the tablets. Because of the simplicity I do like having the tablets. Does this make sense and any rough idea of how long that might be? My guess is a loooong time but I don't know for sure. If it is a long time then it's not a major concern and maybe I should bump my CYA a bit?
My other levels are PH 7.2, CH 550 (high but we have very hard water here - Albuquerque NM), TA 100. From reading on here, with my CH at 550 and at PH around 7.2 I should be ok.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!